Michigan junior Tim Hardaway Jr. broke out of his slump Saturday with 25 points against West Virginia. If Hardaway can reach a level of consistency the rest of the way, the Wolverines will be very difficult to beat. AP photo

With No. 3 Michigan beginning on offense, West Virginia started -- "man-to-man."

"And they better be good at it," Raftery quipped.

It was a clever declaration from Raftery, considering how Michigan All-American point guard Trey Burke has turned this whole college basketball thing into his own personal backyard game of "H-O-R-S-E" of late.

Once again Saturday, Burke proved why many national talking heads believe he's the best floor leader in America. He pulverized West Virginia's defense off the dribble, knocked down open jumpers and found shooters with ease all night long to the tune of 27 points and 8 assists without a turnover. He only missed 4 shots.

On a night like this, Burke probably could have scored 40 -- if he felt like it.

But for the first time in three weeks, his high-flying sidekick made sure he didn't have to.

Tim Hardaway Jr., who had been on the verge of slipping back into the same ugly shooting slump that trainwrecked a large part of his sophomore season, found his game again in New York.

Hardaway scored 25 points on 7 of 12 shooting. He shot with confidence from behind the arc, attacked the lane and kept his new-found intensity on the defensive end.

On nights like Saturday, it was easy to see why Michigan has Final Four potential.

Burke's been dominant, especially lately. In his last six games, he's averaged 19.3 points, handed out 43 assists and committed just 6 turnovers.

But this isn't about Burke. He's playing the way people expect him to.

This is about Hardaway, the player who may ultimately make the difference between Michigan being a good team with a lot of talent and Michigan being a great team with championship potential.

When both are on, Burke and Hardaway give Michigan the best backcourt in the Big Ten -- maybe the country. And this season, they've got more help.

Burke, Hardaway and freshman Nik Stauskas are all averaging better than 13 points per game this season, giving the Wolverines three high-end scorers on any given night -- no one else in the league can say that.

But Stauskas, so far anyway, still needs help to score. He can create points here or there, but he's at his best when Burke is finding him on the fly -- when defenses refuse to stay with him for fear that his point guard will score an easy layup.

Hardaway, like Burke, is a player who can truly create his own shot -- anywhere on the court. And when both players are at their best, Michigan is extraordinarily difficult to defend.

Look around the rest of the Big Ten ... who is supposed to check these guys if they're locked in?

Indiana has a lock-down wing in Victor Oladipo, but if Hardaway's on the money, that means the Hoosiers likely have to hope undersized two-guard Jordan Hulls can check the 6-foot-6 Stauskas.

Michigan State? The Spartans have a top-notch point guard defender in Keith Appling, but are Denzel Valentine and Gary Harris truly capable of stopping Stauskas' outside shot while limiting a dialed in Hardaway at the same time?

Ohio State's in the same boat. So is Minnesota, and so is Illinois.

Stauskas is a shooter and a scorer, but right now, Hardaway and Burke are game-changers. And few teams have the capability of stopping them both, when everything's firing on all cylinders.

Right now, this is all on paper. Michigan hasn't played a Big Ten game yet, and Hardaway needs to prove he can do this more than just once every week or so.

But if he can, Michigan has a terrific shot another Big Ten title -- an outright one this time.

You can guard them man-to-man, 2-3 zone, full-court press, 1-3-1 or any other way you want.

But if Hardaway consistently joins Burke as an elite-level offensive player, then Bill Raftery's right.

When it comes to defending the Wolverines, you'd better be good at it.